Brake rigging



Feb. 5, 1946.4

l w. F. HoLlN BRAKE RIGGING Filed Aug. 7, 1945 nnentor Patented Feb. 55, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT oFPl-C E BRAKE RIGGING "William .i F. nalin, North Riverside, in., assi'gnoi 'to General 'Motorsjcorporatm Detroit, Mienfa corporation of Delaware T'ApplicationfAugust 7, 1943, 2Serial Nos497737 's crains. V(CL iss-236) ward directionywhich I will refer to as the leadin'g end, will be further away troni thetreadof the wheel than is the opposite end, "l'which I will lcall Vthe trailing end,so that a's the'shoe is moved toward the wheel vduring the -brakefapplying iaction, the trailing end fof 'the shoe Twill come :into Contact with the wheelrt.

This is desirable in certain `ltypes of brake rigging whereinthe location of 'the pivot points `of the brake vlevers relative to the center of fthe wheels is such that if the face lof the shoe `is concentric with the tread of the Wheel `whenthe brakes are in released position, the leading corner of the shoe will engage the wheel rst and will tend to dig into the tread thereof, with consequent noise and damage 4to the wheel and/or shoe. In my improved construction, since when the brakes are in released position, the leadingr end of the shoe is held further away from the tread of the wheel, during the'brake applying movement the trailing end of the shoe will Veinvgage the wheel rst so that there is vno :possibility ofthe corner of the shoe tending to di'g into'the tread of the wheel. After the ltrailing-end of the shoe has engaged the wheel, the shoe vand the head which carries it are swung aroundby the brake applying force to a position wherein the shoe will be concentric with the wheel, so that its entire face may contactthe tread'olthe wheel. When the brakes are released, spring vmeans serves to swing the lhead on kthe Vshoe around again to a position 'wherein `the Aleading end of the shoe will be further away from the wheel than the trailing-end.

Another object of the invention is `to make provision for the brake head to automatically Vchange its position relative to the llever upon which it is supported as 'wear of `'either Ithe shoe or the wheel takes place, in'order that the shoe will always be able to assume a position .concentric with the wheel when the Vbrakes are'applied, and a position wherein its leading end will be further away from the wheel tread when the brakes are released. AThis change of position of 'the brake head relative to the lever -islrecessta'ted because of the-fact thatfas'wearofeither the shoe 'the brake lever assumes when the brakes are yapplied changes, since as more l'wear takesp'la'ce rigging which "embodie'srnyinventio'm Fig. 3 is 'as'ectional'vim taken on vtheline 3"-3 *of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is va 'view simnar :to Fie. V2, ibut snowing 'ainodified form-'of in'y invention; -and Fig. 5 is =a sectional Yview, Itakeri on the line TSV-5 fFig.4.

The Ireference numeral |50 in'diclte's'the frame of a 'railway "vehicle truck, lin which the axle 'carrying the Wheels vl2 is `jou`rn`a11ed in the usual manner in dumm boxes r4, and le isan kaina-1- 'iz'er bar, *the ends of which are supported upon the top of the journal boxes. The 'brake arrangement Vvshown 'is of the well-'known 'clasp type, and consists f -brake AShoes 'f8 'and 20 adapted fto b'e lf'orc'ed against opposite sides of the wheel, the shoes being supported -upo'n fbrake heads 22 and 24 respectively. The brake lhead 22 "isV pivot'ally secured to 'a dead truck l'ever 26 A'b'ya form'of connectiontobepresently described, While lthe brake head =2'4 -iS lli'votalll'y 4seuudto hanger `2-8' by asimilar forin'of connection. The lever '26 is fpivotally secured to bracket -30 by a pin 32, while the-hanger l-28 is pivotally supported on the frarneatf. A live truck lever 38, Awhich is connected by a rod l40 to va -source of power (notshown) Ifor applying the brakes, i's also pivotally connected '-to `the brake head 24, and has its -lo'we'r endplvota'lly connected 'to a ipair of s'tralddle bars 42, the Opposite ends of Which are connected lbyla slackadjuster 44, ofthe typedis- 'closed lin 'Blomberg patent2,24"6,340, issued June i7., '1941, to'thelowerend ofthe lever 26.

As :best fsho'vvnlin Fig'. 3, la Harige '46 on -aloushing 'H8 'bears vElg'ali'lls't :One ide df Tel/'Er 26, While a` flange' Y5|] on a bushing 152 bears against the Oppositside there-Of. bo1t54 extends through these bushings and nut 56' threaded onthe bolt servs'to draw-the flanges on the bushings tightly "against Vthe lei/l'. A bearing `=Ir1ber 58 o'f 'airtifriCtioI'l nl"atertl1 is lre'ssed into the opening virl.

2 the lever that the bolt passes through, to permit Y l the lever to move freely relative to the bolt.

YThe side walls 60 and 62 of the brake head have holes formed in them, and bearing members 64 of anti-friction material which ,are pressed in these holes t over the bushings 48 and 52 soV that the brake head is pivotally supported thereon. The side wall has VVan opening -66 formed in it, and extending into this opening is a projection 68 on an arm 16 which is formed as a part of the bushing 48, extending downwardly therefrom. .V A compression spring12 is located in the opening 66, one end bearing against a seat portion114 r formed in the wall '60 at the end of theopen; ing, the other end of the spring bearing against the projection |58. ,I When the brakes are in released position, the

compression spring 12 serves to swing the brakeV head around its bearings on the bushings 46,.and 52 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig.'2,'so

that ,itV assumes the position shown in-doteanddashlines inthat` figure, in which position the j Yupperorl leading end of the shoe is held'further Y away Yfrom the tread lof ,the wheel than is the lower end. This prevents the leading corner of the shoe from tending .to dig into ,the `wheel when Vthebrakesare applied.A To limit the amount of swingingmovement of the Vupper end ofthe shoe away from the wheel,the opening 66 is made of such length thatits edge 16 will come into contact with theV projection l6i! Y'when the desired amount of swinging movement has been reached.

lAsrthe brakes are applied, it will be seen that the lower or trailing Vedge of the shoe will come into contactjwiththe tread of thewheel first, whichvwill cause the brakephead to swing around in a c-ounterclockwise direction as viewedyin Fig. ,2, until the entire face of the shoe bearsevenly against thewheel. This of course causes the springY 12 to becomefcompressed, ,but before itV can become completely compressed, the seat portion514 will engage the end of a pin 18 which is secured inthe projection 68, thereby preventing further swinging movement in this direction of the brake head about its pivotal mounting on the bushings 48 and 52. When the brakes are released, the spring 12 will cause the brake Vhead to swing around again to the dot-and-dash line position shown in Fig. `2, in order that the leading corner of the shoe will not engage the tread of the wheel rst asV the shoe is moved toward ,the wheel as the brakes are applied.

As the brake shoesand the wheels become 2,394,382 Y j j n Y the arm 16 is permitted when sumcientpressure is applied to it, by slippage of the flange 46 relative tothe face of the 'lever 2-6, the flange normally being prevented from moving Yrelative tov the lever because of its being drawn firmly against the lever by the bolt 54 and nut 55. When enough vforce is applied,Y however, the `friction between Vthe face of the flange andthe lever is overcome and the flange'r can slip relative r`to the lever toV allow the arm to swing in acounterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, to a, new Yposition wherein when the brakes are applied the head j there isjnoino'vement of the bushing49 Vrelative` "tothe lever,"the'r`e being su'icient frictionbeimay rock about its pivot point so that the face Qftheshoewillbe concentric Vwith the tread of the whee1.1;1 twi1l vbe understood Vthat normally tweeritheiiac'ev ofthe ange 46 and the lever to prevent such movement, and it is only when an appreciable amount of wear of the brakeshoesy Vorwheels has occurred thatY the'bushing will be 1 swung to anew positionfby-theforce exertedduraoV worn during use, it of course becomes necessary Y tojmove the lever '25 closer to the wheel to apply the brakes, thereby gradually changing the angular positionthat the lever assumes relative to the wheel when the brakes are applied.` Since the position of the brake head relative to the wheel when the brakes are applied remains substantially the same, it becomes necessary for 1 the be' swung away from the wheel e, distance suffi' cient to permit the head to rassume a position wherein the face of the shoe will be concentric with the tread of the wheel. This movement of as in the form shown inA Fig.'3, and in the coning the brake applyngmOl/emem 'f' VAs shown in Fig. 1whileVV in connection with 'brake head ,22 the arm 16 Vandspring Y12 are locatedfbelow the point where thehead is pivotally supportedon the brake lever, in connection with brakevhead-24 theseparts are locatedl above said pivotalpoint,this being because theleading'end of Vshoe ,20 lis Vthe 'lowerendwhereas in the case'of shoe |8theupper end isk the, leading end, dueto the shoespbeing locatecl'vonvopposite, Y

sides of thewheel. Otherwise the' struotureior connecting the brakegheadg24'to the leveri` is the same as that shown in Figs. 2 and 3;-

In Figs. 4 and 5 there is shown another form of ,my invention which'rnay Vbei employedfwhen two spaced brake levers |26-and1|28 areused.' In thisl case, the bushings` I48and |52 are'clampedV betweenV the levers by abolt1|54 and nut |56,'which 1 results in'there beinglconsiderable friction bebetween the leverIZSandTlange |46 on bushing' |48, and.between lever |28 and flange $156 on K' bushing |52. Thejarrn |10 extending downwardly from flange |46 lhas a vprojection |'68fwhich is l received in opening |66 formed in the side wall |60 of the bra-ke head, Yandi compression spring |12 Vextendsbetween projection |68 and seat portion |14 on the side wall, a pinV |18 carried by theprojection being adapted to yloe engaged byY Y the seatportion to move the arm |16) and therebyY the bushing'l48 to a new position when the'shoes Y or vwheels have Vbecome worn to such an extent thatthe Vface of the shoe cannot become concentric withV the tread 'of the wheel when the .brakes are applied. i

The operation of this form of the invention is' the 'same as that. iirst described; theV principal differences between the Ytwo structuresbeingthat in the form shown in Fig. 5 the bushingsare clamped between 'two 'levers linstead :ofbeing clamped against opposite s'idesof a'single lever struction of Fig. 5 the sidewalls |60 and |62 'of thejbrake head iitk between thei'langes |46 Vand |50 of the'bushings |48 and |52'respectively, being journalled on the bushings by means of-'bushings |64 'whichare press-fitted in the sidewalls.

In .bothof theformsdescribed, it will be seen that when the brakes are' released and Ythe lever moves awayv .from thefwheel, the; compression' Vsprings will cause the brake heads toY swing around their pivotal mountings Qnfthe bushings j which *are frictionally clamped'against theilever,

soL that the upper ends of, the shoes rwill be moved away from the tread of the wheel rst. As the releasing movement continues, the end of the slot in the brake head comes into contact with the projection on the arm extending downwardly from the bushing, which prevents further swing.. ing movement of the head relative to the lever. Further movement of the lever away from the wheel serves to pull the entire lface of the shoe out of Contact with the wheel, the leading end of the shoe, however, being further away from the wheel tread than is the bottom, so that when the brakes are applied and the shoe is again moved toward the wheel, the trailing end of the shoe will come into contact with the wheel irst, thus preventing the leading corner of the shoe from tending to dig into the tread of the wheel.

It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristic-s thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. In a brake rigging, the combination of a lever, a bushing having a flange formed thereon, a bolt extending through said lever and said bushing, a nut threaded on said bolt serving to clamp said ange in frictional engagement with said lever, a brake head provided with a pair of side walls pivotally mounted on said bushing, one of said side walls having an aperture extending therethrough, an arm projecting outwardly from said flange and extending into said aperture, and resilient means located in said aperture between one edge thereof and said arm acting to swing one end of said head away from the lever, another edge of said aperture being adapted to engage said arm to limit such swinging movement.

2. In a brake rigging, the combination of a lever, a pair of bushings each having a ange formed thereon, a bolt extending through said lever and said bushings, a nut threaded on said bolt serving to clamp said flanges in frictional engagement with said lever, a brake head pivotally mounted on said bushing, said head having a rectangularly shaped opening formed therein, an arm projecting outwardly from one of said flanges, the outer end of said arm extending into said opening, and resilient means located in said opening between one end thereof and said arm acting to swing one end of said head away from the lever, another end of said opening being adapted to engage said arm to limit such swinging movement.

3. In a brake rigging for a vehicle wheel, a lever, a bushing having a flange formed thereon, a bolt extending through said lever and said bushing, a

nut threaded on said bolt serving to clamp said flange in frictional engagement with said lever, a brake head pivotally mounted on said bushing, a brake shoe carried by said head, an opening formed in said head, an arm projecting outwardly from said ange and extending into said opening, and a compression spring located in said opening between one edge thereof and said arm and serving when the brakes are released to rotate said head to a position wherein one end of the brake shoe will be further away from the wheel tread than the other end, the other edge of said opening being adapted to engage said arm to limit such rotative'movement of said head.

4. In a brake rigging for a vehicle wheel, a lever, a bushing having a flange formed thereon, a bolt extending through said lever and said bushing, a nut threaded on said bolt serving to clamp said flange in frictional engagement with said lever, a brake head pivotally mounted on said bushing, a brake shoe carried by said head, an opening formed in said head, an arm projecting outwardly from said ange and extending into said opening, a compression spring located in said opening between one edge thereof and said arm and serving when the brakes are released to rotate said head to a position wherein one` end of the brake shoe will be farther away from the wheel tread than the other end, and means carried by said arm adapted to be engaged by said edge of the opening, when the shoe or the wheel becomes appreciably worn, to cause said arm and the bushing to which it is attached to be moved to a new angular position relative to the lever in order that the face of the shoe may always be concentric with the wheel tread when the brakes are applied.

5. In a brake rigging for a vehicle wheel, a lever, a bushing having a ange formed thereon, a bolt extending through said lever and said bushing, a nut threaded on said bolt serving to clamp said flange in frictional engagement with said lever, a brake head pivotally mounted on said bushing, a brake shoe carried by said head, an opening formed in said head, an arm projecting outwardly from said flange and extending into said opening, a compression spring located in said opening between one edge thereof and said arm and serving when the brakes are released to rotate said head to a position wherein one end of the brake shoe will be farther away from the wheel tread than the other end, and a projection extending from said arm within the opening, said projection being adapted to be engaged by said edge of the opening; when the shoe or the wheel becomes appreciably worn, to cause said arm and the bushing to which it is attached to be moved to a new angular position relative to the lever in order that the face of the shoe may always be concentric with the wheel tread when the brakes are applied.

WILLIAM F. HOLIN. 

